The second book in a trilogy labors under some problems. It has to recap the story from the first book so new readers will not get lost and set the stage for the story in the third book as well, and do all this without losing sight of the main goal – to tell its…
If you have ever found yourself wondering just what purple prose looks like in a novel, look no further. This books has all that more. You will find yourself in the midst of flashing orbs, rampaging lusts, and tenebrous – yes, tenebrous – gloom. The moon does not merely rise in the sky, it appears…
Anthologies have always been a mixed bag for me, and Christmas Kisses was no exception. There was a fairly good story, a terrible one, and one that nearly knocked it out of the park for me.
There have been authors and readers who have suggested that we at AAR should only write nice things about the novels we read. I have a few nice things to say about Whisper Always: The hero became almost likable during the final third of the book. It takes place during the Victorian times – a…
Don’t be fooled by the ethereal title (or the redhead on the cover that looks nothing like the raven-haired heroine). Wishes on the Wind is for readers who like weight to their stories. Elaine Barbieri tackles the tough scene of the Pennsylvania coal fields of the 1870s, and does a creditable job of portraying the…
Need a laugh? Need a pick-me-up? Have I got the book for you. Deborah Simmons newest, The Gentleman Thief has the light frothy appeal of traditional Regency Romance with the extra advantage of some very warm love scenes. It’s a kind of a 19th century screwball comedy with a ditsy-but-tenacious heroine and an appealing Remington…
An Improper Proposal is a sexy, action-packed, humorous book. This is not a book to turn to if you are looking for in-depth character analysis or tortured, soul-searching heroes; this one is just pure fun. While it’s slightly flawed at the end, overall it provides for solid entertainment. Payton Dixon has had a rather unconventional…
Annaleah Fairchilde is a spirited lass who refuses to consider the suit of Lord Barrimore, a duke’s heir. For this impertinence she is exiled from her London Season to the isolated Cornish home of eccentric Great-aunt Florence. While walking on the beach, Anna discovers the unconscious, mistreated and nearly-naked body of a strange man. Anna…
To Please a Lady, by Susan Johnson, the sequel to Outlaw, is set in Scotland in 1705, a time when considerable political gamesmanship went on between England and Scotland. Caught in the middle is the Scottish Earl, Robbie Carre, the 18-year-old brother of the hero in Outlaw, and Roxanne, the widowed Countess of Kilmarnock. Roxanne,…
The Black Knight is like a window to the past. Not to medieval times, but to the 1970s – when the prose dripped with purple, and the hero and heroine vowed to hate each other forever but hopped into bed two sentences later. Romance has long since moved past these conventions, but someone forgot to…
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